Affiliated Computer Services, (ACS) yesterday announced it has closed the acquisition of Caribbean-based outsourcing firm, e-Services Group International, a company run by Jamaican Patrick Casserly for US$85 million, including the assumption of liabilities. Sources close to the deal said that the new entity will be called ACS e-Services and that Patrick Casserly will remain at the helm of this company.
 |
| Patrick Casserly |
The Business Observer broke the story two weeks ago when details of the deal remained a closely guarded secret. ACS funded the transaction with existing cash on hand and previously disclosed it was in discussions to purchase the business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer care company. e-Services' revenue for the 12 months ended February 2009 was approximately US$65 million.
The acquisition provides ACS and its clients with an additional 4,000 highly trained, English-speaking workforce based in Jamaica and St Lucia capable of handling complex business functions from a location convenient to the Americas and Europe.
"This acquisition secures ACS' position as a leading customer care provider to the global market," executive vice-president and group president of ACS Business Process Solutions, Tom Blodgett said. "The veteran management and talented employees of e-Services will continue to provide high quality service to e-Services' global customers. The acquisition also allows ACS to expand in a location that gives clients access to cost-competitive customer care and BPO services."
The clients and employees of e-Services will now be backed by a FORTUNE 500 company offering a diversified suite of BPO solutions with demonstrated global delivery capabilities that serve its clients in more than 100 countries. No workforce restructuring is expected.
"The client-focused cultures at e-Services and ACS will ensure a smooth transition for all of our employees and our clients," said president and CEO of e-Services, Patrick Casserly. "All e-Services employees will continue to provide the best-in-class services our customers expect now that they are a part of ACS."
Prior to the acquisition, ACS was one of the largest information communications and technology services providers in Jamaica, operating from a recently expanded facility with more than 1,600 employees. ACS serves companies among the communications, education, financial services, health care, insurance and manufacturing industries from Jamaica, providing payroll processing, transaction processing, human resources, call centre support and finance & accounting services.
ACS has been in the customer care industry for more than 20 years. With this acquisition ACS will employ approximately 33,000 agents handling in excess of one million interactions every day from 122 customer care centres around the world supporting customers in 20 languages.
ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with approximately 70,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS".
Patrick Casserly started e-Services back in 2000 and in less than nine years it has become one of the largest technology call centres in this hemisphere employing over 4,000 people. The company has managed to win contracts from some of the largest Fortune 500 companies including Phillips and Delta Airlines.
As his portfolio of clients grew, Casserly sought to expand his company beyond Montego Bay acquiring 180,000 square feet of operating space in Portmore and New Kingston. With 110,000 square feet of contact centre premises in Montego Bay, he set up operations in St Lucia in 2006, adding a further 222,000 square feet of premises. Casserly won the Jamaica Observer's coveted Business Leader Award for 2003, and is its youngest awardee.
Source: Jamaica Observer